Bryan Caraway haggles for bigger fight-night bonuses at UFC 159

Bryan Caraway haggles for bigger fight-night bonuses at UFC 159

NEWARK, N.J. – If you need someone to go to bat for you at the negotiating table, Bryan Caraway might be your man.

Caraway (18-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC), who took home a third-round submission against Johnny Bedford (19-10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) on the FX-televised preliminary-card of UFC 159, argued for, and won, bigger fight-night bonuses at the event.

The UFC recently adopted a policy to make fight-night bonuses $50,000 across the board. The promotion offers extra checks for “Knockout of the Night,” “Submission of the Night,” and “Fight of the Night,” as added incentive to deliver a good performance.

But according to UFC President Dana White, Caraway made it known prior to the event that he and the rest of the fighters already deserved an additional incentive.

An extra $15,000, to be exact.

“He said, ‘I fought on the last card – it was [$65,000]. This one’s 50,'” an amused White said. “I said, ‘What are we, f—ing negotiating now?’ All the fighters are like, ‘Yeah! That one was 65!’

“And he just kept talking. (He said), ‘You know, I had to cut a lot of weight for this fight.’ And I said, ‘What are you, a f—ing union representative? It was actually funny. We had a good time in the locker room.”

Caraway did, in fact, take the fight on short notice, replacing an injured Erik Perez. Backstage after the fight, he said he endured a horrific weight cut.

But in the end, he prevailed with a guillotine choke of “The Ultimate Fighter 14” vet Bedford, who had won back-to-back fights prior to UFC 159.

Fellow “TUF 14” vet Caraway, meanwhile, got back to the winner’s circle after losing a split decision to Takeya Mizugaki at UFC on FUEL TV 8. He now stands at 3-1 in the octagon.

The beneficiaries of Caraway’s smooth negotiation skills were Pat Healy, Jim Miller and Roy Nelson. Nelson picked up the “Knockout of the Night” bonus, while Healy doubled up for $130,000 total for “Submission of the Night” as well as “Fight of the Night” in his win over Miller.

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